Rank & Defile: Opeth albums from worst to best - Decibel Magazine (2023)

SwedenOpethThey produced one of metal's most curious discographies. After years of rehearsals and line-up changes, the group, fronted by singer/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt, emerged in 1995 with no public demonstration and with a well-rounded sound that blends progressive folky rock and elaborate death metal, often in extended versions. songs. Structures Progressive extreme metal was nothing new, but Opeth's consistent, consistently fun songs stood out among their peers. Long songs that blend two notoriously challenging styles of music shouldn't be overly catchy, emotional, or sweeping. Despite this, the band has become a hard-hitting touring headliner with a remarkably consistent discography. The band inspired a legion of imitators who couldn't understand what made Åkerfeldt's music so special.

Equally surprising is Åkerfeldt's decision to move away from the extreme metal and original sound he created at the height of his popularity. This week the band will release their 13th album,poison in the ass.It's his strongest in years., and to celebrate, we're ranking the band's entire discography from worst to best.

13)pale communion(2014)

While I'm not ready to say that Opeth has an absolutely bad track record,pale communionAt least it has some serious flaws. Sure, it starts off with some gusto: "Eternal Rains Will Come" is beautiful, and "Moon Above, Sun Below" is as good as a 10-minute Opeth song written after 2010. In contrast, "Elysian Woes." it really can't justify its six minutes of acoustic noise, and "Goblin" manages to copy the style of its inspiration, the respected Italian prog band. But respectfully, and not to be too pedantic, if I want to listen to Goblin, I'll listen to damn Goblin. “River” demonstrates Åkerfeldt's improved clean vocal skills and a keener ear for vocal melodies, but it's too late to salvage the record's momentum.

12)witch(2016)

Honestly, 2016witchnot much better thanpale communion. Its second half is just as slow and introspective (or inscrutable) as its predecessor, full of homages and nods to obscure, overpriced prog-rock classics. Seriously, nobody needs to hear "The Seventh Sojourn". However, there is one thingpale communiondoesn't have: an amazing single. The title track has no grunts, but it is one of Opeth's heaviest songs. It's a beauty to hear Åkerfeldt as the front man of stoner-doom, throwing out kaiju-sized riffs. A part of me would still love to hear a full album like Sorceress, but other than that I'm fine.witch, The album.

11)state(2011)

Heritage gets a lot of flak, as albums that play with the template often do. With the exception ofconviction(which is approved as part of a double disc) is Opeth's first fully progressive release. not howconviction, it's not very cohesive or solid. To make matters worse, the band promoted it with a headlining tour with all material acoustic or no growling:and they didn't tell their fans what they were getting into. In hindsight,statecontains some of Åkerfeldt's most succinct and beautiful compositions, as well as hard-hitting filler. "I Feel the Dark" and "The Lines in My Hand" would make an excellent 7 inches. "Slither" delivers four minutes of solid rainbow worship; Again, it would be great to have a full record of Opeth songs along the lines of "Sorceress". Longer sentences like "Häxprocess" and "Folklore" fail to capture my attention or imagination.

10) Cuenca (2008)

If Opeth had disbanded after thatcuenca, would have left the most perfect Metal discography in my opinion. Hereafter, each slab is essentially flawless: we are now comparing diamonds. However, the departure of main members Martín López and Peter Lindgren left some stains. New drummer Martin Axenrot lacks the style that made López's work so intriguing. In retrospect, it's clear that Lindgren contributed much of the metal heaviness that overshadowed the darker side of Opeth's other albums: "Heir Apparent" and "Hessian Peel" attempt the transition from death metal to the progressive rock that remains the movement. that characterizes the band, but they do so with a clumsiness that "Deliverance" lacks. Lighter facts like the intro 'Coil' and the stunning ballad 'Burden' are highlights, as well as indications of where Åkerfeldt went next.

9)sunrise(1996)

Partially compiled prior to Opeth's debut albumorchidswas published,sunrisehas the unfortunate but inevitable oversight of a rushed second release: some of its segments date back to 1991. The infamous 20-minute 'Black Rose Immortal', for example, can't really justify its running time, and the record would be much better without him. Still, even outtakes by a band like Opeth show remarkable musicianship at that time. Especially bassist Johan De Farfalla shines with arpeggios and drummer Anders Nordin's fast drum beats give the record a bit more Black Metal aggression than its predecessor. None of the musicians stayed with the band, and Opeth's sound reached its peak from then on. However, The Night and the Silent Water remains a must-see.

8)poison in the ass(2019)

Oddly recorded in two languages ​​with related but different lyrics, Opeth's 2019 album still struggles to get out of the way and still lacks overt death metal elements, but it shows a notable increase in Åkerfeldt's songwriting skills. . Finally, his progressive rock compositions can hold their form for more than four to six minutes, thanks in large part to a collection of energetic riffs that Åkerfeldt plays mostly without vocal accompaniment. Martin Axenrot and Fredrik Åkesson play with confidence, and Åkerfeldt's clear voice has never sounded more powerful. Songs like "Dignity" offer progressive metal without the added bite and aggression. No harsh vocals? No problem.

7)release(2002)

Originally conceived as a pure Death Metal record to combat the dutiful Prog Rock of its counterpart.conviction,releaseIn the end, it still sounds more or less like a typical Opeth record, although its songs tend to make themselves felt more directly than the songs on it.black water parkthat preceded andghost daydreamwhat followed. The title track, a bona fide live classic, ends with a nearly five-minute polyrhythmic breakdown; It's possibly Opeth's toughest moment. The rest of the album doesn't do this song or this moment justice, but the band was still playing an essentially perfect game at this point.

6)orchids(1995)

1995, when Opeth made their Decibel Hall of Fame debut.orchids, nothing sounded like that. Of course, some things bothered him: Emperor's lavish details, Edge of Sanity's progressive death metal music (which was produced by Dan Swanö), and the willingness of various post-black metal bands to increase the intensity of extreme metal, but nothing so reverent captured the melancholy. and the beauty of progressive giants like Genesis.orchidsIt deserves praise for its originality, but it also has its charm. This grittier, less polished opeth has an atmospheric feel that has defined Bandcamp black metal to this day: the first acoustic break on "In the Mist She Was Standing" still holds my attention. Åkerfeldt had the good sense not to dwell too long on an idea; The album's top five tracks maintain momentum and narrative power ("Under the Weeping Moon," especially Whips). Swanö wasn't sure how to capture the band's sound well. The guitars sound a little thin and the sticky bass drum attack detracts from the drama. Åkerfeldt improvedorchidsIn the further course, however, I miss the light renaissance atmosphere of the fairs.

5)ghost daydream(2005)

Martin Mendez and Peter Lindgren's latest Opeth album is perhaps their most gothic yet. Written in part in an ever-spooky open D tuning and with mellotron and organ layers by now regular member Per Weiberg (he was a live member for some time), all songs onghost daydreamit sounds richer than brownie and twice as dark. Åkerfeldt's roar has never sounded sinister, and the partial concept album showcases some of his most occult-obsessed lyrics as well as his most Oedipal. Despite, or perhaps because of, the determined menace on "Baying of the Hounds" and "The Grand Conjuration," Åkerfeldt's lighter, more classic rock-oriented melodies shine brighter. "Isolation Years" and "Hours of Wealth" are among his most beautiful songs. It is perhaps the seminal Opeth album in the band's discography, a collection of songs that no other band could write and record. Honestly, he and the remaining record four could be fighting for the top spot any day.

4)My arms, your hearse(1998)

With the addition of Martin Mendez and Peter Lindgren, Opeth's classic lineup fell into place and the band's sound crystallized. What did Åkerfeldt do with his now-ideal lineup? Of course he wrote a concept album. Sung from the perspective of a thoughtful mindMy arms, your hearseweaves an interwoven narrative with a wealth of interludes and lyrics for each song, ending with the title of the next. Even instrumental songs have printed lyrics. The device complicates procedures. So why isMy arms, your hearseso good? Because when Åkerfeldt avoid each other and write real songs, it's three points from half the place. The climax of "When" is one of the most moving moments. Even better is the finale of the long-running "Demon of the Fall" concert. Just over six minutes by Opeth standards, the song contains some of Åkerfeldt's darkest lyrics: "Silent dance with death / All is lost / Torn by the arrival of autumn / a blink of an eye / you know it's me / you keeps the dagger in reach" and is unlikely to end in one round. I can't think of another metal song that ends with this favorite kindergarten musical device.

3)conviction(2003)

There's a common notion among longtime Opeth fans that boils down to a simple dichotomy: death metal records are good, but progressive rock recordsOrt. Life is not so simple andconvictionspoils the whole idea. If you had told me back in 2009 that every future Opeth album was going to be a progressive album, I would have said, "Well, if they're as good as they can beconvictionit's alright!". Cramped, dark and totally infested with catchy melodiesDistortion-Pedale, is a remarkable collection of songs that benefits from being heard separately from its twin,release. Apocryphally, Åkerfeldt began working on these melodies as lullabies written for his then-daughter. True or not, every song thereconvictiondelivers memorable music with a cool, decadent vibe. Steven Wilson gives the record the same audio treatment he gave the production of Porcupine Tree at the time, meaning it sounds primal, psychedelic and deeply sad. "Windowpane" remains one of the band's most popular songs; To date, it is the most streamed song on Spotify with nearly nine million streams. Later, "To Rid the Disease" hides sinuous rhythms under her incredibly catchy voice. The only reason it's not number 1 is that it's not representative of the band's discography as a whole, it's different from recent Prog and Death Metal records.

2)black water park(2001)

A pereneblack water parkIt remains one of the most respected records in historical music. The data don't lie: They break down the all-time top 50 into the ever-doubtfulSputnikmsuic Checklistand remained consistently #6 across all genres in 2001 with a respectable 78%in metal filesdespite multiple revisions intended only to accumulate its score, and it maintains a3.93 en Rate your musicwhere it has even fiercer competition and even higher rankings, cracking the top 200 for that site. For reference, only Metallica and Black Sabbath are in the top 100 on Rateyourmusic - for a metal band, those results are incredible. Like Cosmo Lee from Invisible Orangessignificantly supplemented, even among metalheads, joins IsisOceanic, convergeso and soand mastodonsLeviathanin consensus for best album of the 2000s Part of that acclaim stems from the band's collaboration with Porcupine Tree mastermind Steven Wilson, whose impeccable ear gives the record an exceptionally clear and deep sound. His songwriting fingerprints also mark the record: He provides vocals on "Bleak," probably my vote for the band's best song overall. Despite its true prog thrusts, it's a record full of hooks. practically any songblack water parkfeatures a massive chorus, none more powerful than "The Drapery Falls", though many are close. For its sublime presentation and obsessive listening, it is rightly hailed as a classic likely to set records likerust in peaceas one of the best offerings in the full stop genre. the sun sets foreverblack water park, In fact.

1)dead nature(1999)

So yesblack water parkHe's so good, why does he win the silver medal and not the gold medal?black water parkit is a refinement, not a revolution. With all its polish and precision, it takes up the ideas outlined inMy arms, your hearseand clarified about Åkerfeldt's best album, 1999dead nature. Here he kept the narrative structure of his previous albums, cutting the fat and upping the hook quotient considerably. From that point on, Opeth were arguably the biggest band in pop music (take your Radiohead records and throw them out the window) for the next six years, just as Metallica was from 1983 to 1987. For good reason,dead natureThe data values ​​of are very similar to those of its successor: comparing them is like comparingride the lightningjmarionette. From the folksy cadence of the chorus of "Godhead's Lament" to the harmonic riff of "Serenity Painted Death," each song contains an indelible moment to draw the listener in, as well as a myriad of little flourishes to reward revisions. The band later cleaned up its delivery, but in the process lost some of the medieval touches that give Still Life its character. Speaking of characters, this remains Åkerfeldt's best story, an imitation of Shakespeare's Othello ("The Moor") and Charlotte Bronte's Wuthering Heights ("Melinda"). A BA in Classics isn't necessary to have fun, mind you. Shop with wax, light a joint and get ready for one of the best hours of prog metal from your former heavyweight champions.